Wire-bending machine



Dec. 14,1948

Filed Aug. 22, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Increase in Rad/us Cams 50,53 L Downward (Shaft/e) Movemenf -Cam 64 c 5 Ply/12 (Shuffle) d Movement Cam 66 a T L6H (Shaft/e). I MoVe/nenz 22 2'4 Cam /4 (Die) T Away from the W/re Cam 8E INVENTORS JoH/v Z. WOLF Z3 By WILL/AM C. Wou- Fi A TTORNEYS De -14,1948. JQL. WOLF ETAL 2,456,3

I WIRE BENDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 22, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JOHN L. 1 1 00 3y h ILL/AM C". WOLF Dec. 14, 1948. J, W LF ETAL 2,456,353

WIRE BENDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 22, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR. JoH/y L WOLF By 'MLL/AM C. WOLF Jam/fwd; 2 9 m ATTORNE Y5 D3314, I J, L, ET AL I WIRE BENDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 22. 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 5 L4. INVENTOR.

4 JOHN L. WOLF BY W/LL/AM C. WOLF A TTORNE Y6 Patented Dec. 14, 1948 prair es srarasrArsur orrice f WIRE-SENDING "MACHINE JohnL. Wolf, Bloomsbu fg, and-William .0. -Wolf 'Ymk, Pa.

Application August 22, 19zlJ,"Serial'No. 3770;0'12

(Cl.l4.0-'.7I)

.3 .Claims. 1

This invention relateslbroadly to.metal forming machines :and,imore particularly, to machineszfor bending Wire .or s.trip'tmateria1 into sinuous form :inmhich-iit comprises :a series of spaced trans- :verse iparts, or .flights, the "two ends of each of i which are connected respectively to :the adjacent ends --of the preceding and succeeding flights by loop portions which are alternately oppositely Taced along the 'length of the formed device. Wire 0r:str'ip m-ateria1*formedin this manner-pro- "vides a ribbon-like element which finds a Wide new =o'f-use, for example'as an electric resistance heating element and the like.

These wire 'or strip elements are sold "at very lovv prices :and consequently must be produced very cheaply. 'It .has therefore been one of the principal objects 'of this invention 'to' provi'de a simple and inexpensive machine for producing such elements .at a speed much greater than is ing their cost of manufacture.

A greatnumbertof .difierent machin'esffor forming .elementsof Lthe -.des cr'ibed .typeare now. known. In many .of these .machines .the wire or strip .is .formed into .fiights by bending it .at regularly vs aced intervals about .pins carried by .rotating wheels or by .the oscillating end of .a bell-crank lever. .In zthesemachines the workstrip is unsupported. except by the pins about which it is bent. :It has *been ioundthat'thislimits the reduction-of the-spacingbetweenflights -(i.-.e. limits the number of .eflights ,per inch) although it is .desirahleiinimany cases to havemanymore flights per :inch than 715 ,permitted by known :ma'chines. This isrdue to the fact that the-reduction .0f the spacing between flightsris llimitedrby the diameter \of rthe pins about which the ,vvireis bent :and that, as these ;pins provide :the .only support for the Wire,\they-cannot beseducedzin diameter below a :safe a'lue which is toogreattmprovidetthe desired :smallspacing. Durfinventionzprovides:a:machine which is not subject etc this disadvantage and which :Will produce ",wire ribbons ;of "the adescribed etypeshavingimuchssmal'lerspacingLbettveenfiights and consequently :many more flights per inch ithanknown machines. The provisionzof amachine-capable of doing .this has been roneeof the rprincizpal objects of :our invention andiis achieved in the machine disclosed in this application by providing a die member having a viidth substantially equal .to the length of the flights and -a thickness substantially equal We the spacing between them, about the opposite *S'ide edges-of vl'i'h'ich the oppositely facing endloops of the-wire possible with known machines, thereby decreasi120 ribbon eare alternately formed, and which ,provides a "support for the :entire length of each flight 20f the ribbon throughout the formation thereof and the lforma'tion =01" the .loops.

: .It is very (desirable, in machines :for producin 'fOImBdWiITG elements of the described fame to he *able to adjust the machine to'vary the :spacing between rfiights and it "has been :an important object of this inventiontto :provide a. simple means for effecting this. The :achievement 0f this in machines according to "the present invention is another advantageous result "flowing from the provision of the forming die described above, as it will be apparent that by using a'fo'rining die of the desired thickness, and replacing *thiswith a die of anotherthicknesswhen it is desired to change the spacing, thespacing between flights may be easily "and quickly changed.

It has been a further object of this invention to "provide a wireben'ding machine of the described typehaving .a die member .on'which the wire'is formed and having, in addition, a single means for ,positively drawing the wire .from a source .of supply, training it across and onto the die in alternately different directions andmoving the formed ribbon longitudinally .of itself so that additional .loops may \be formed, .byreason of which single operating member a very simple, inexpensive and rapid =machine might be @produced havingall of the advantages provided by the die member, as described hereinbefore. This vobjectis achieved in the present invention by 'the ,provision-of .aiso-called shuttle which controls and moves the wire at all times, causing it -.to'be .drawn .iroma treeltor other source of-supply and trained 'in alternately opposite directions across .thezforming rliesand whichzalsormoves the formed lribbonlongitudinally-of itself afterthe:forrnation :of each 'fiight, in ;order to ipermit :another flight to be formed.

A still iurther object of "the inveritionhas been ztozproyide meansifor positively and'firmly holding sthe formed wire element during the formation of each ilight in order "to :cause the Wire to be bent =about the die'sin'the desired manner-without slipping from the die. This is achieved in our invention by the provision of 'a so-called holder which operates in synchronismwith the shuttle and die to separately engage each flight immedia'tely after it"has been formed and moved-away from forming position, thus insuring that the formed ribbon will be held immovable and in proper relation to the "die during formation of the next succeeding flight.

chine. In this application there is disclosed a machine for securely holding each flight against the shuttle immediately after formation thereof and until it is engaged by, the holder, in order to assure that the flight will be in a predetermined position and location which is determined by the location and shape of the face of the shuttle with which it is in contact. The provision of such means insures that each flight will be securely held by the holding bar in a predetermined position and relation to other parts of the machine. This would not be the case if the means now referred to werenot provided as, in the absence of such means, the inherent resilience of the wire or strip material wouldcause it to spring away from the shuttle, or would cause diiferent flights to engage the shuttle difierently, whereby they would not be held uniformly by theholder. In our invention this object is achieved by the provision of means which exert pressure against the formed ribbon in the discharge passage of the machine, thus braking or retarding its'movement and causing it tocrowd'against the shuttle, thus holding the last-formed flight firmly against the shuttle.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will be made apparent by the following description and the annexed drawings which disclose one embodiment 'of my invention and in which drawings,

Fig. 1 is'aplan'view, withparts broken away, of a wire bending machine according to the invention; i

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig.1;

'Fig. 3 is an end view, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. l, of the cams at one end. of the machine for operating the die bar, the holder bar and the-shuttle;.. ,1, I

, Fig. 4 is a perspective, schematic view showing the shuttle, die, holder, operating and other elements of the machine of Fig, 1; p

Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are enlarged sectional views of parts shown in Fig.2,,ilh:1s trating different steps in the operation of the disclosed machine;

Figs. 9, '10, 11 and 12 are front views of the parts and elements shown in- Ffigs. 6, 7 and 8,

respectively, and

Fig. 13 is a diagrammatic representation of the relation of the various cam surfaces of the mafor forming straight-wire, strip or similar preferably metallic material, which'is' indicated at A in the drawings, into a ribbon of the type and structure described hereinbefore and which is illustrated at B in the drawings. .This machine comprises a frame, which may 'be a fiat plate 2, and the following operable elements which are more fully described hereinafter, which are mounted directly or indirectly on the frame.

. '1. A die C which, in the preferred form, is a,

.flat plate having thickness and length substantially equal respectively to the desired spacing between flights of the finished ribbon and the desired width of the ribbon (i. e. the length of the flights, and on and about which the Wire is bent into sinuous form. I

2. A shuttle D through which the unformed wire passes to the die, and which has the functions of laying the wire on the die in alternately opposite directions, moving the formed flight into the outlet passage of the machine, and moving the formed ribbon through the outlet passage.

3. A holder E, the function of which is to hold the last-formed flight rigidly in place at the outlet side of the die while the shuttle is forming each flight and while the shuttle is moving to forming position from the position it occupied in moving the last-formed flight to the discharge side of the die.

4. A tension plate F, which retards or brakes the movement of the formed ribbon through the discharge passage of the machine in order to cause the last-formed flight to tightly engage the shuttle while the ribbon is being moved into and through the discharge passage.

5. The necessary operating members, such as means for imparting lateral reciprocatory movement to the shuttle, i, e. across the die, vertical reciprocatory movement to the shuttle, i. e. at right angles to the forming face of the die, in timed relation to its lateral movements, reciprocatory movement of the die toward-and away from the wire, and reciprocatory movement of the holder toward and away from the formed wire ribbon, the movements of each of these parts being synchronized with the movements of the others.

The die C of the disclosed machine comprises a strip of metal having flat, parallel upper and lowerfaces against and on which the straight parallelflights of the wire ribbon are formed, and semi-circular ends about which the wireis bent to form the oppositely-facing end loops which connect the flights. The width of the die is approximately equal to the length of the separate flights, while the thickness of the die is approximately equal to the spacing between flights.- The die is preferably formed as the end of a part 6 extending at right angles from the side of a bar 8. The die'part 6 and bar 8 are mounted in a recess in an upper block 9 and are slidably supported on a lower block i0 for sliding reciprocatory movement laterally of the length of the bar Whereby the die may be advanced into and withdrawn from the path of the wireA being fed into the machine, The bar 8 and die C are constantly urged by springs 12 to an extended, or outer, operative position in which the die is in the path of the wire A entering'the machine, and other means are provided for moving it to a retracted, "inoperative position out of the path of the-wire. Such means comprise cam wheels I4, I6, which are mounted on spaced parallel shafts I8, I 9 journaled in plate 2 and rotated through gearing 20, 2| respectively from a main gear 2la which is driven by a suitable'machine. Each of the cam wheels l4, l6 has formed thereon diametrically spaced axial cam surfaces 22, 24 which engage rollers 26, 28 at the ends of bar 8 on the side thereof opposite the springs 12. This die provides a means having flat parallel faces on which the wire is formed into the transverse flights of the ribbon and having end edges about which the wire is alternately bent to form the oppositely-facing loops which connect the spaced flights.

The shuttle D of the machine comprises a part through which the incoming wire A is fed and which traverses the die to lay the wire thereon and moves at right angles to the die to move the formed wire into and along the discharge passage of the machine. In the disclosed embodiment the shuttle is a U-shaped member havzontal part 34-which has a V-shaped recess 35 in 5" the front face thereof' through which the incoming wire A is fed. The outlet port at the lower end of recess 35" preferably has outwardly flared walls to prevent cold working of the wire by excess bending. The front face 'of the shuttle is disposed vertically above the die C and the restricted outlet port at the lower end of the recess 35 is positioned adjacent the die so that asthe shuttle is reciprocated laterally, i. e. across the upper surface of the die, the outlet port will be caused" to traverse the die, the stroke of the port terminating just outside the edge of the 'die at each side thereof. The lower surface of-the horizontal part 3 7: of the shuttle restsfreelyand slidably on the upper surfaces of two spaced blocks 36, 38 which are resiliently supported at their lower end on springs 4t, 42'whereby the shuttle may be vertically reciprocated, by compressing the springs, from an upper position in which the lower surface of the horizontal part 34 of the shuttle is above the level of the upper surface of the die Cby a distance equal to the thickness of wire A, to a lower position in: which such lower surface is approximately at the level of the lower surface of the die. The blocks 36, 3'8

are positioned on opposite sides of the die and the space between their adjac'en't side faces is directly below the die andfor'rns the discharge passage of the machine through which thekfornied ribbon is discharged. The blocks are held in spaced relation by a fixed member itwhich forms one wall of the discharge passage. The adjacent corner edges of the blocks 36," 3B, which lie just below the opposite end edges of tliedie are-but away to form corner recesses 46, m which are flared outwardly at their upper ends-and within which the opposite edges of'the formed wire rib bon are received and alon which the edge parts of the wire ribbon move as'the ribbon moves along the discharge passage.

Means are provided for eifecting vertical reciprocation of the shuttle and such meanscomprise spaced rotatable cam wheels 50, 521 which are mounted above the shuttle and are driven from main gear 21a through gears 54, 55-. Each cam wheel has formed thereon a single radial cam surfaceifi, the two cam surfaces being identical in size and structure in order that theywill operate simultaneously and with the'sameeifect; The periphery of each wheel is in sliding engagement with means, such as a wheel, formed respectively on the ends of a pair or vertical rods58, 59 which pass through spaced openings in block 9, At their lower ends the rods 58, 59 are attached to alateralconnecting bar 64a which freelyand slidably rests on the upper surface ofthe-lateralconnecting part 34 of the shuttle, and. has a recess -69 in the front face thereof which is positioned below a similar recess 6! in the frontface of block 9 and through which recesses theincom ing wire Apasses to the recess35 of the shuttle. Rotation ofthe cam wheelsBlL. 52 willcause-the rods 58, 59, bar Eda, the shuttle, andblocksiid, 381.130 reciprocate vertically against the force-of springs 40, 52,.the parts being so proportioned thatthe lower surface of the lateralpart Bd of the-shuttle will movesbetween the described limitsyduring such reciprocation. These limits may be varied if desired by means of adjustingscrews 62; 63 which are threaded. through the blockcii and: bear at-their lowerends. on bar: 6412; Obviously, a single cam might be used to efiect'vertical reciprocation of the-shuttleiinstead of thetwopcams of the disclosed machine.

Means are provided by thezinventionifor recu rocating the shuttle laterally of the machine, Lie.- across the die, and suchmeans comprise: radial cams. 64, 66 whicharemount'ed on rotary shafts.

18, I9 and which respectively engage the outer faces of the upstanding side arms 39, 32 of. the shuttle. The cams are so constructed andp'ositioned relatively to each other that when they are rotated a lateral reciprocating movement is imparted to the shuttle, which Slides on the upper surface of blocks 36, 38 and on the lower surface of bar 64a, the stroke of such movement being such that the restricted outletport at the lower end of the wire feed passage 35 in the shuttle traverses the die in the manner described h'ereinbeiore. In the disclosed machine the cams 64, 66 are of similar size, structure and positioning on their respective shafts. Each cam has a constant-radius part a of small radius, a constant-radius part b of greater radius, and a curved cam surface 0 and a hat inactive surface d connecting these constant-radius parts.

The holder E of the disclosed machine comprises a strip of metal having a width approximately equal to that of the wire ribbon and a thickness which may be approximately equal to that of the wire A. The holder is positioned below the die, with its upper surface approximately in the plane of the lower surface of the die and extending in the opposite direction therefrom so that the ribbon may pass between their ends when they are retracted. The holder is preferably formed as the end of a part 10 which extends at right angles from the side of a bar 12 which is parallel to bar 8 and of substantiallythe same length. The holder, part H3 and bar I2 are mounted in a block it, which is rigidly attached to block iii, for sliding reciprocatory movement laterally of the length of the bar whereby the holder may be advanced into holding engagement with the transverse wire flight which is resting against the lower face of the shuttle, i. e., the flight which has just been formed and. moved by the shuttle into the discharge passage of the machine. Means are provided for effecting such reciprocatory movement and comprise springs 8!] which engage the bar 12 and constantly urge it toward the formed wire ribbon, and cam wheels 82, 84 which are mounted on shafts l8, I9 and each of which has formed thereon diametricallyspaced axial cam surfaces 86, 88 which engage rollers 89 on the ends of bar '32 to intermittently urge the bar and holder E away from the formed wire ribbon against the force of the springs. While it is preferred that the die and the holder be on opposite sides of the wire and the formed ribbon they may both be positioned on the same side thereof if desired.

The positions and shapes of the various cam surfaces and their relation'to each other to produce the operations and sequence of operations described herein is disclosed in 13 of the drawings. The relative speeds of rotation to be used for proper operation of the machine may be produced by gearing having the proportions disclosed in the drawings. The cam wheels-M, 64, and t2 and the cam wheels It, 56, 8d are mounted on shafts i3, 59 respectively and therefore rotate at the same speed, being driven by gears 20, 2| of the same size and number of teeth. The gears 54, 55 which drive the cam wheels 5%, 52-areso related to gears Eli, 2i that the'cam wheels 50, 52 make two revolutions for every single revolution of the cams on: shafts l8, it.

In the operation. of the disclosed machine to form'a sinuous wire element Bfroin' a straight wir'eAthe machine parts are first positionedso that the shuttle is at the extreme right or lefthand end of its longitudinal stroke. In this position the" cam 64 (or 56) which has moved the shuttle to the described position will be at the end of the cam surface and will have begun rotation on the constant radius b. When the cam and the shuttle are in this position, one of the axial cams 22, 24 which operate the die will be in such position thatthe die will be held in its retracted position against the force of springs H2, in which position the die is withdrawn from the path of the wire. When the shuttle and the die and their operating cams are in these described positions one of the cams 86, 88 which operate the holder will be in such position that the holder will be retracted away from the formed wire ribbon against the force of springs 3. When the shuttle, the die, the holder, and their. operating cams are in the described positions, the cams 56 which impart vertical movement to the shuttle will be in such position that they are just moving out of contact with the arms 58 which transmit vertical movement from the cams tothe shuttle. When the parts are in the described positions the wire A :can be threaded through recess ill in block 9, and recess 60 in bar 64c, then through the V- shaped recess 35 in the shuttle, then between the die and the holder, which are now retracted, and into the outlet passage of the machine between the blocks 36, 38. The machine is now ready to operate.

When the machine is operated the holder C first moves in against the wire, holding it firmly against the plate 44 which forms one side of the discharge passage. The shuttle is then moved upwardly by the springs 49, 42, during which movement the cam wheels 50, 52 engage the arms 58 over the constant radius portions of their peripheries. This upward movement of the shuttle will not have any effect on the wire which has been threaded through the machine. When the shuttle has moved to its most upward position as shown in Figs. and 9, the die-bar operating cams will be moved to permit the springs l2 to move the die into the path of the wire and at one side thereof, it being remembered that the shuttle is in an extreme right or left-hand position. With the parts in the described positions the shuttle now makes a traversing movement, carrying the outlet'port of the wire-receiving recess across the top face of the die at a distance above the upper face of the die approximately equal to the thickness of the wire A. This movement is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 9 in which the shuttle has moved from an extreme right-hand position to an extreme left-hand position, carrying the wire across the upper surface of the die and forming a flight G of the ribbon. The next operation of the machine is to move this last-formed flight G downwardly below the die so that the shuttle may pull the wire again across the upper surface of the die in the opposite direction from the flight G. Accordingly, in the next sequence of operations of the machine the die and the holder are withdrawn, as shown in Figs. 6 and 10, and the cams 56 which impart vertical movement to the shuttle cause the same to be moved downwardly without traversing movement, thereby forcing the formed wire ribbon downwardly through such a distance that the upper surface of the flight G is at approximately the level of the lower surface of the die. When the parts are in this position, the holder operating cams 86, 88 move to such a position that the holder is forced .out-

wardly by its operating springs into engagement with the flight G, holding the same firmly against the fixed plate 44. With the parts in this position, the die being still retracted, the cams 56 move away from the arms 58, 59, permitting the springs 40, 42 to move the shuttle vertically upwardly to the position shown in Figs. '7 and 11, in which the lower face of the shuttle is spaced above the upper surface of the die by a distance approximately equal to the diameter of wire A. The die-operating cam surfaces 22, 24 now move away from the rollers on bar 8, causing the dieoperating springs I2 to move the die outwardly to its operative position in the path of the wire A, as shown in Figs. 7 and 11. The shuttle now traverses the die again, pulling the wire back over the upper face of the die, forming a second flight H as shown in Figs. 8 and 12. The described operations are now repeated to form additional flights. The sequence of operations may be set forth briefly as follows:

(1) The shuttle pulls the wire across the die,

(2) The die and holder are Withdrawn,

(3) The shuttle moves downwardly, moving the transverse flight of wire which has just been formed to a position below the die,

(4) The holder moves inwardly against the formed flight,

(5) The shuttle moves upwardly to return to operative position,

(6) The die moves inwardly above the formed transverse flight which has just been moved downwardly,

(7) The shuttle pulls the wire across the top face of the die, forming a second flight,

(8) The die and holder are again withdrawn,

this being a repetition of step (2) (9) The shuttle moves downwardly, moving the last-formed flight below the die, this being a repetition of step (3).

(10) Etc.,

As stated hereinbefore, the invention provides means for retarding the movement of the formed wire ribbon through the discharge passage of the machine which lies between the blocks 36, 38 in order to cause the last-formed flight to tightly engage the lower face of the shuttle as the shuttle moves downwardly to move the wire ribbon through the outlet passage, whereby the holder is caused and permitted to engage the last-formed flight throughout its length and in alignment therewith. Such means comprise the tension plate P which is positioned between the blocks 36, 38 and forms the front (or back) of the outlet passage of the machine, the other being formed by fixed part 44. This tension plate is urged toward and into the outlet passage by spring means I00 so that in its normal position it restricts the outlet passage to a depth slightly less than the thickness of the wire A. As the wire ribbon moves through the outlet passage it will exert a force against the tension plate F, slightly compressing the spring means I00 and the tension plate will therefore exert a frictional or retarding force on the movement of the wire ribbon. This will cause the wire ribbon to "back up in the outlet passage so that it will be slightly compressed between the lower face of the shuttle and the outlet edge of the tension plate. As the shuttle moves downwardly the last-formed flight of the wire ribbon will therefore be held in tight engagement with the lower face of the shuttle. This causes the holder to engage the last-formed flight most effectively, as the flight the top of 9 will be forced to lie more squarely in the path of the holder and in alignment therewith and will not be permitted to move away from the bottom face of the shuttle because of its inherent resilience.

If it is desired to change the spacing between flights of the formed ribbon, this may be easily and quickly done by changing the die to correspond to the new desired spacing. For this purpose a sup-ply of dies may be kept on hand.

Throughout the specification and claims of this application the words wire and strip are used to describe the material formed by the machine which has been invented. It is to be understood that these words are used interchangeably to denote wire, flat strip, rod, spring-wire, pianowire, or other material which may be formed on or by the use of, the machine, and it is to be understood that the machine and the claims covering it are not limited to the formation of any specific material.

While we have described and illustrated certain embodiments of our invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments, as well as modifications of those disclosed, may be made without departing in any way from the spirit or scope of the invention, for the limits of which reference must be had to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for forming straight wire or strip material into sinuous shape to provide a wire ribbon having spaced transverse flights the ends of each of which are connected respectively to the ad jacent ends of the preceding and succeeding flights, comprising a die having surfaces shaped to correspond to a flight and the flight-connecting parts respectively and on which these are formed,

. a shuttle above the die having a passage through which the straight wire is led from a source to the die and being reciprocable to traverse said passage and wire across the flight-forming surface of the die, means for holding the formed ribbon on the outlet side of the die during traversing movement of the shuttle whereby such movement causes wire to be drawn from the source thereof through the shuttle passage and about and over the flight forming surface of the die to form a flight of the wire ribbon, means for moving the shuttle against the formed ribbon to discharge the same from the machine, and means resiliently opposing movement of the shuttle against the formed ribbon and comprising spaced blocks disposed on opposite sides of the die on the discharge side thereof on the upper surfaces of which the shuttle is freely and slidably supported,

and springs disposed below the blocks and resiliently supporting them.

2. A machine according to claim 1, in which the adjacent edges of the blocks are recessed to receive the side edges of the wire ribbon formed on the die and passing therefrom between said blocks.

3. A machine for forming straight wire into sinuous shape to provide a wire ribbon having spaced transverse flights the ends of each of which are connected respectively to the adjacent ends of the preceding and succeeding flights, comprising a shuttle having a passage therethrough through which straight wire is led from a source, separate means for imparting reciprocatory traversing and vertical movements to said shuttle, said means being so adjusted and related that the cycle of movement of the shuttle is upward, across, downward, upward, across, downward, a die positioned adjacent the discharge side of the shuttle passage and having surfaces about and on which the wire is formed into the flightconnecting part and the flight of the finished ribbon, means for advancing the die into operative forming relation to the shuttle passage and retracting it therefrom, said means being so related to the shuttle moving means that the die is in advanced operative position while the shuttle is traversing and is in retracted position while the shuttle is moving vertically, a holder on the discharge side of the die for rigidly holding the formed wire ribbon whereby traversing movement of the shuttle passage causes the wire to be formed about and on the surfaces of the die, means for moving the holder into and out of holding engagement with the ribbon, said means being so related to the shuttle-moving means that the holder is in engagement with the ribbon during traversing and upward movements of the shuttle and is out of engagement with the ribbon during downward movements of the shuttle.

JOHN L. WOLF. WILLIAM C. WOLF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 468,301 Cooper Feb. 2, 1892 734,350 McFatridge July 21, 1903 905,256 Washburn Dec. 1, 1908 1,009,823 Beeman Nov. 28, 1911 1,254,455 Wadsworth Jan. 22, 1918 

